


How Kevin Learned To Smile, And The Robot That Helped Him

by PapySkellington



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Desert Bluffs, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Mild Gore, Post-Strex Kevin, Pre-Strex Kevin, Strexcorp, slow burn?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-06
Updated: 2018-02-06
Packaged: 2019-03-14 18:30:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13595874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PapySkellington/pseuds/PapySkellington
Summary: Kevin has fought hard to protect his beloved Desert Bluffs from StexCorp, but in the end- loves them the most.A story of how Kevin became the perfect Strex employee, and the only person who was around him at the time, the only one who may help him to feel safe again.





	1. Where It Started

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is my first story I'm posting on here. I wrote it a few years ago for NaNoWriMo and I've been back and forth with myself for too long about whether to actually post it- and with encouragement from some friends and reading back over the story, here it is. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy  
> -Papy

StexCorp Synernists Incorporated slowly began to take over the little sunny desert town of Desert Bluffs. Kevin refused over and over again, fighting back against the corporation to try and stop them from buying the radio station as part of their take over. 

 

“We will continue to fight. We will not let StrexCorp take our Desert Bluffs. Until next time, Desert Bluffs. Until next time.” Kevin says, turning off his microphone. As he did this, he was quite quickly dragged out of his chair by two Strex employees who were a lot stronger than he was. Kevin thrashed and cried out as he was practically picked up and carried out of the room. 

 

One of the two employees hit Kevin over the head, knocking the radio host out. 

 

Kevin groans softly as he woke up in what seemed to be a cell with a hard mattress for a bed with a worn, bloodstained blanket. The radio host got up, going over to the bars. He didn’t notice the camera in the corner of the cell.

 

“Hello?” He calls, his voice echoing. He had a pounding headache and he tries looking around, not seeing very far down the long, plain hallway. The radio host looked through his pockets, finding literally nothing and the bars were too close together just to slip out, even for the lanky radio host. He started to pace, frowning softly.

 

After about 10 minutes- even though time was strange and it could have been an hour or 3 days but it felt fairly short so the radio host estimated that it was about 10 minutes- 2 dark eyed men walked down the hallway towards Kevin’s cell, stopping in front of it with a wide, unnatural and unnerving smile. Kevin had no idea that the human mouth could stretch that widely and tightly, but would soon find out how possible it was. From their all black suits, bright yellow ties orange triangle ‘S’ badges on their left lapels, Kevin assumed that they were StrexCorp employees as well. 

 

The smiling men opened the cell; Kevin trying to quickly run out but was obviously caught, being dragged to a fairly large, dimly lit room which had a cheap light fixture hanging on the ceiling above a chair that was fixed to the floor and had straps to keep whoever sat down in place, with a strap where their torso, wrists and legs would be. 

 

Kevin struggled in the two men’s grip, frowning. They looked to the radio host, slightly confused as to why he wasn’t smiling. 

 

They sat him in the chair, using the straps already placed there to restrain him so that the radio host wasn’t able to get away. Kevin instead struggling and squirming against the restraints, calling and crying out for help.

 

“Why are you doing this?! I will never work for Strex! I won’t!” Kevin shouted, then continuing to shout his protests. He cries echoed around the room before the two men gagged him to stop the radio host from speaking in case anyone heard what was going on. Even though the likelyness of Kevin being saved from becoming a Strex employee would be pretty much nothing. 

 

Kevin let out muffled cries, still trying to get out of the chair as the two left, mumbling something about machines. A few minutes later, there was what Kevin described to be a robot slowly walking towards him. 

 

“Good morning, Kevin.” He heard a robotic voice say. Kevin looked towards the voice as the supposed robot came out of the shadows of the room. The radio host observed him, seeing that he was more like a man, than a robot, but with some obvious differences to say the least. The man had somewhat tanned, but shiny skin, almost rusted-looking and had panels making up his face. His hair cascaded down the other’s shoulders and seemed more like a wig the longer that Kevin looked at it, it being thick and seemed to be quite coarse if one were to touch it. He was wearing an all black suit with a yellow tie and an orange badge, much like the others. As the robot came even closer, Kevin noticing that the badge was different to the others. This badge had the word ‘PROTOTYPE’ in large red letters, his badge obviously being larger as well. 

 

The robot reached forward, pausing for a moment before ripping the cloth gag from Kevin’s mouth. The radio host gulped nervously. 

 

“Wh-who are you?” Kevin said, trying not to sound scared but couldn’t stop his voice from shaking. 

 

“I’ve been a-assigned the n-n-name of prototype 006 or Santiago, Kevin.” The robot said, his voice seeming to be skipping over the words, suggesting that he wasn’t exactly the best or most high-tech robot. The robot stared at Kevin with glassy eyes. 

 

Kevin felt slightly uncomfortable at the closeness and the fact that Santiago was a prototype. And a fairly new prototype, at that. Also, it made the radio host’s mind wander as to what exactly happened to the other prototypes.

 

“Right…” he mumbled. “So… can you let me go?” 

 

“I’m afraid I c-c-cannot do that, Kevin. It is time for your S-s-s-strex approved medication.” Santiago said, roughly pulling up the radio host’s sleeve on his shirt and wrapping a bloodied cloth around his arm and tightening it, Kevin frowning slightly. 

 

Santiago paused, his eyes going dark and staying in the same position and not moving at all. 

 

“Uh… hello?” He said, looking to the frozen robot. After a few moments of silence, there was a whirring sound and his eyes flickered back on. 

 

He walked to the other side of the room, wheeling a small cart over with various things on it. Kevin noticed surgical equipment on it. Before the radio host could as what he planned to do with the equipment, the robot scanned his arm, finding Kevin’s vain and jabbing a syringe filled with unknown liquid into his arm as Kevin let out a whine of pain. 

 

Almost immediately, Kevin started to feel his eyes get heavy, trying to shake off the tired feeling. Santiago took hold of his jaw to keep his face still, everything just feeling heavy to the radio host and he was unable to move his face away. 

 

His eyes wondered down worriedly to the equipment, seeing the robot pick up the scalpel. He raised the scalpel, pressing it to the side of Kevin’s mouth, the radio host trying to move his head but whatever was in that syringe was preventing him. 

 

Santiago slowly dragged the scalpel along his cheek on one side, blood starting to seep out. Kevin hissed in pain, squirming slightly but not enough to be able to distract the unfeeling robot. He did the same to the other side, moving the skin and pinning it back so that it was out of the way, Santiago trying to get access to his jaw bone. 

 

The robot cut away parts of Kevin’s mouth that connected to his gums, Kevin crying out and wincing in pain, curling his hands into fists just to have something to grip onto. 

 

The radio host tried to distract himself with anything and not look at Santiago but the discomfort and slowly building pain was just too much. Kevin could hardly believe that any of this was actually happening.  _ A prototype robot was actually cutting open his mouth.  _

 

Kevin felt tears prick his eyes, blurring his vision as he tried not to let them fall. 

 

He whimpered softly, Santiago moving more of the other’s skin so that it wasn't in the way and could soon see his jaw bone. 

 

The robot made a quick and uncoordinated movement, seemingly by accident but considering what was happening, it was very likely that it was on purpose. pose. Kevin yelped, hearing an unsettling  _ pop _ and sudden pain in his jaw as it dislocated. 

 

Santiago moved to the side of the radio host, keeping his jaw in the same position as he paused, Kevin looking up at him to see the robot’s eyes, it looking like he was reading something very quickly, making Kevin even more nervous. 

 

Santiago nods slightly, Kevin only knowing that he moved because of the slight mechanical whir that he made. 

 

His breath hitched in his throat as Santiago’s grip tightened, him letting out an unintelligible noise as his grip continued to tighten until they both heard a sickening  _ crunch _ . 

 

The pain started to overwhelm the radio host, not having anything to help the pain subside and blood leaking down his face, salty tears getting into the open cuts, Kevin letting out whimpers of pain as Santiago started to reconstruct his jaw, Kevin fainting from pain. 

 

When Kevin woke up, he could feel the other still moving his jaw into an unnatural, position, the radio host groaning and whining in pain, his face stinging and throbbing. 

 

The robot seemed to be reconstructing his jaw, putting medical pins in place so that the bones wouldn’t move and could heal in its new position. Kevin set out a whine of discomfort and shifted weakly in the chair.

 

“Oh, yo-o-ou’re awake again. You didn’t make a-a-any noise for about an hour, Ke-e-evin.”

The radio host tried to speak, but all that came out were groans and noises that sounded like a toddler trying to speak. 

 

“I’m being told that by my s-superiors if you try to talk, it will just hurt more. S-s-so please stop talking, Kevin. You will be the perfect e-employee once I’m finished. Everyone else had to go through this-s-s, so it’s not like y-you’re the first.” Santiago said, continuing to skip the words, Kevin being surprised that the malfunctioning robot was even able to do any of this.

 

“K-keep still.” The robot stuttered, jolting a little as he moved to pick up a dental file. Kevin rolled his eyes with a slight growl, it not exactly being like he could even move if he wanted to. 

 

Santiago kept Kevin’s mouth fully open, using the file to make all of his teeth a lot sharper, almost as if he had fangs. He whined and shifted uncomfortably, still in a lot of pain. Kevin had pretty much lost his sense of time but knew that the other was scraping away at his teeth to make them all sharp for quite a long time. 

 

Once the robot had finally finished, he moved Kevin so that he was leaning over a small basin on the cart, Santiago pouring water into the radio host’s mouth, it dribbling down his chin a little before he spat into the basin, coughing dryly. He saw blood and pieces of enamel and dust in the basin, making him feel sick, Santiago luckily pushing him back properly into the seat. 

 

He gripped Kevin’s chin, leaning close to him as Kevin awkwardly avoided eye contact. Santiago held up a needle with black thread on it, which brought Kevin’s attention back quickly. His eyes widened and his face palmed before he quickly shut his eyes, gritting his sharpened teeth which now fit together like puzzle pieces. It caused him pain to do this, his jaw and cheeks aching from the robot’s work. 

 

Kevin dug his nails into the chair, needing something extra to hold onto. He knew that since he wasn’t given any medicine so far, the pain was about to get a whole lot worse. 

 

Santiago slowly started to stitch up the cuts on the side of his mouth, Kevin whining and crying out in pain, feeling every movement he made with the needle and thread. 

 

Once both sides were finally stitched up, Kevin was shaking softly, his nails making marks in the wood of the chair that he was still holding onto tightly. 

 

“Y-y-you will now be retrained, Kevin.”

 

“Wh… whatsat mean?...” He mumbled painfully, trying to barely move his lips or it would cause him even more pain than it already did.

 

“You’ll f-find out.” The robot held up a brace, fitting it on Kevin’s face so that his jaw stayed in that position while it healed. The radio host shifted uncomfortably, his face aching from the new position that it was in.

 

He brought over a small TV with headphones, putting the headphones on Kevin. Santiago wrapped the bloody cloth around Kevin’s arm once again and tightened it while receiving information for what to do next. 

 

The robot clumsily picked up a syringe with golden, sparkling liquid in it, knocking a few other items off of the cart with a small clatter before inserting the syringe into Kevin’s arm, earning a small huff of pain from the radio host. 

 

He shudders as he felt the liquid get into his system, it travelling through his veins with him feeling it travel from his arms, down to his legs and up to his head. Kevin squirmed weakly as Santiago put the headphones on him, turning on the TV. 

 

“S-sit still and k-k-keep watching.” Kevin looked away from the TV almost immediately, flinching slightly as ear-splitting screams filled the headphones. 

 

Santiago frowns slightly and quickly turned Kevin’s head back, gripping his jaw once again and keeping him facing at the screen. Upon looking at the screen, Kevin saw disturbing and gory scenes and unknown subliminal messages. The radio host shut his eyes tightly, only for the robot to move away for a minute before returning to him, a machine forcing Kevin’s eyes open. He whimpers softly, reluctantly staring at the screen. 

 

“Look around you: Strex.

Look inside you: Strex.

Go to sleep: Strex.

Believe in a smiling god.

StrexCorp. It is everything.” Kevin could hear repeated, over and over again with flashing pictures of the StrexCorp logo, what they believed the smiling god looked like and extremely wide smiles.

 

The radio host was uncomfortable, obviously, with all that was going on. He didn’t know if he would be saved, or if he would even be able to go back to how he was. Who would save him? Kevin had no family… Lauren probably considered him as a friend but not a close friend. One of those friends where if they’re around then it’s nice but otherwise, they wouldn’t really talk. Even if he was able to somehow go back to his normal life with the smallest bit of his sanity, his jaw would still be stuck in this unnatural position, forcing his mouth into a smile that was not his own. 

 

Once the robot had finally decided to stop the video about an hour later, Kevin sighs shakily in relief as the headphones were taken off off of him. 

 

He felt another syringe be jabbed into his arm, Kevin whimpering slightly in pain once again. The machine to keep his eyes open was taken off of him, Santiago mumbling something and undoing the straps that kept him stuck to the chair. 

 

As the restraints were taken off of him, it took the radio host a moment to realise that he was free, him almost immediately trying to get up but falling painfully onto the floor with a groan and weakly trying to pull the brace off of his face. Santiago watched him blankly as two smiling employees picked Kevin up, dragging him back to his cell as the robot followed. They locked Santiago and Kevin in the cell, laying the radio host down on the bed, the medicine in the syringe starting to take effect and making him quite drowsy. 

 

By now it was dark all around, Kevin trying to sleep but the pain in his face and the throbbing headache he had kept him awake. He looked around; not realising that the other was in the room with him and yelped slightly as he saw two glowing eyes staring at him from the other side of the fairly small cell, standing against the wall.

 

Kevin whined, pulling the blanket over his head to try and ignore the other and curling up under the thin and bloody blanket. He had a sleepless night, the various pain and thoughts circling around in his head accompanied with the cold from the cell, the hard and uncomfortable mattress and knowing that the robot was still staring at him not exactly helping him to sleep. He eventually saw daylight through the small window near the ceiling and sat up slowly, only to be dragged out of the cell, Kevin trying to stand but couldn’t still, the medicine still making him a little sleepy and weak. 

 

The radio host was strapped back into the chair once again, the headphones put back on him.

 

“D-do we need to make you l-l-look at the screen again?” Santiago asked, returning to Kevin’s side, the radio host tiredly looking at the TV.

 

After about 2 hours, he continues stares blankly at the screen. The corner of Kevin’s mouth unconsciously twitched up, very slightly as he watched the video. 

 

Time was still a mystery to the radio host, him just knowing that he had been there for a very long while. He was unsure and doubtful if anyone would save him. He wondered if Grandma Josephine was alright, or whether she had been turned into a mindless drone much like everyone else in Desert Bluffs. The only person left to be under Strex’s control was now the radio host- but with any luck, that would change very soon. Passing thoughts seemed to be the only thing that was currently keeping some part of Kevin’s personality and sanity there, but those thoughts were brief and fleeting. 

 

As Santiago noticed the slight twitching of his lips, moving closer to the subdued radio host, giving another dose of the golden liquid. The radio host sighed softly and a little shakily as the robot looked over his face, Kevin continuing to blankly watch the screen. 

 

“Y-your mouth is h-h-healed, Kevin. It’s time to take the s-stitches out.” The robot took off the brace before undoing the knots to keep the thread in place and pulling it out. Kevin whined in discomfort, his mouth being pulled slightly as he did so. Where there were hastily and not very professionally closed wounds on the sides of his mouth the day previously, there was now a thin pink scar on each side, making his lips seem even wider.

 

Kevin hardly noticed the pain that kept him up the night before, but he did now seem more awake than he did when the radio host first entered the room that morning. The medicine seemed to heal the radio host extremely quickly and worked much like adrenaline would. Kevin still had a slight throbbing headache but it was nowhere near as bad as what it was the night before. Santiago fitted the brace back onto him before taking the restraints off of him.

“I’ve b-b-been told to take you back to your room for a while, K-Kevin.” He helped the radio host up, who fell against him. Santiago supported Kevin as they slowly walked back to Kevin’s room, which they both could see that there seemed to be a warmer blanket on the bed. 

Kevin slowly sat down on the bed with a groan of relief, it muffled slightly by the brace. He was glad that the mattress was softer and it didn’t seem as cold as it previously was in the room. 

“Kevin… u-uhm… I was told to m-m-make you feel more at home… s-s-so I have a gift f-for you.” The robot moved closer to him, opening his palm to Kevin. In the robot’s palm, there was a few nuts and bolts in fairly good condition. Kevin looked a little confused but slowly took the ‘gift’ with a nod, his mouth still stretched into a smile because of the brace. 

He mumbled a muffled ‘thank you’ before setting them down on the blood soaked oak table that was now next to his bed. There was a StrexCorp employee book also on the table, Kevin picking it up and reading it just as something to do. Santiago continued staring at him as usual. 

Later in the evening, Kevin was still reading but the robot moved towards him, taking Kevin by the wrist and pulling him up and out of the cell, the radio host dropping the book as he was taken back to the dimly lit room for his medication. 

Kevin didn’t put up a fight, not needing the restraints like he did before. “Y-you have a lot of p-p-potential, Kevin. Y-you will be an amazing employee. You will b-be the best, most res-p-pected radio host th-there ever was. I c-can see it clearly.” Santiago said truthfully; seeing a lot in Kevin and knowing that because he was the last to become a StrexCorp employee, that he would very likely support and grow the company even more because of this. Kevin smiled very slightly but genuinely, slowly wrapping his arms around the robot. He was glad to have someone with him and thought the words he was saying was very kind. 

Santiago naturally didn’t know what to do in this situation, and so, didn’t hug him back but hesitantly patted his back.

Once he was given the golden liquid, Kevin was taken back to his room and slept peacefully. Santiago continued to watch over him, almost like a guardian angel. He noticed in the middle of the night how Kevin started to writhe and twist and turn, having a very vivid nightmare. The robot frowned, gently shaking the radio host awake, who clung onto him for comfort. 

“K-Kevin. You are safe. Please c-continue to sleep.” Santiago said emotionlessly, the other slowly letting him go with a small nod, turning away and hugging a pillow tightly as the robot stared down at him in the darkness of the night. 

Over the next few days, Kevin’s bones were fixed into place, no longer needing to wear the brace. Santiago continued to bring him small, strange gifts such as wire, screws, nuts and bolts, Kevin appreciating them even though he didn’t understand why he was given such odd presents. He was a lot more cheerful, smiling from the moment he would wake up and all while he slept. The radio host watched with a large smile as the other moved around him, examining his face. 

“Your smile i-i-is very wide and lovely, Kevin.”

“Aww~ thank you, Santiago. That’s so sweet of you to say~” Kevin said cheerfully, his voice sounding so much happier than when he was first taken by Strex. The radio host moved his jaw a little, feeling his face for one of the first times since this had all started. 

Santiago handed Kevin a mirror and he smiled widely, squealing and examining his new smile. “Oooh my~ my smile is so wide now!~” Kevin looked at his sharpened teeth, running his tongue over them curiously and touching the thin scars on either side of his lips.

“I don’t know why I was so negative about StrexCorp and the smiling god before~ I don’t know why I was negative about anything when there’s so much to be positive about!~” Kevin said with a slightly creepy giggle, looking to Santiago. 

The robot nods slightly, knowing that the radio host had made a lot of progress from when they had started. 

“I-I-It is almost complete, K-Kevin.” Kevin stood up, going over to him. Santiago gestured for Kevin to follow him out of the room. The radio host skipped after him, grabbing his hand so that Kevin didn’t wander off and lose the robot in the large building. Santiago stopped and looked to Kevin, slightly confused as to why he was holding his hand. The robot got out of his grip, taking the radio host’s wrist with his cold robotic hand, it seeming easier for Santiago. Kevin didn’t think much of it and they continued walking to a small, pitch black room, it only being illuminated slightly by the robot’s eyes. From the light of Santiago’s eyes, Kevin saw a covered window and another chair with restraints.

Santiago sat the radio host in the chair, restraining him once again. “I-I’m sorry I have t-t-to do this, Kevin. T-this next part is important b-b-but dangerous i-i-if you get very close to it.”

“Oh, that’s fine~” Kevin said, smiling up at the robot as he sat calmly in the chair. 

 

“You m-might feel some di-di-discomfort, but that will be o-over soon. Then th-there will be no more pain. N-n-no more worry or fear or doubt…” Santiago walked over to the window.

“Believe in a smiling god, Kevin.” He said, uncovering the window.

A blinding light filled through the window, easily covering Kevin in it’s glorious light. 

“It’s… wonderful.” The radio host whispered, gazing at the light with wide eyes, smiling so much wider than he did before. Santiago noticed that the chair had become translucent, knowing that it was working so much better than with everyone else. Even Kevin himself had begun to turn translucent, Santiago able to see his bones and his intricate beating heart and fascinating brain at had been changed and altered into the smiling man that now sat there.  

Kevin’s smile seemed better, fuller… wider. “S-Santiago! I see it now! The beautiful majesty of living as one under the relenting love of a Smiling God!” He cries out, starting to writhe in the chair, wanting to be even closer to the light. 

Santiago kept a close watch on Kevin’s eyes. The radio host’s eyes were turning from a stunning golden to as black as obsidian the more he stared at the extraordinary light, the whites of his eyes also turning black.

Once his eyes had turned fully black, Santiago covered the window once again. 

“Welcome to StrexCorp, Kevin.” The robot said, taking the restraints off of Kevin. 

Kevin jumped happily out of the chair, stretching. “Mm~ I feel so warm and… smiley~” he squeals, looking to Santiago, who held up a mirror. 

“My eyes…” he whispered, looking in the mirror curiously, no longer able to see his irises. “I look… I look…”

“Y-you look amazing, Kevin.” Santiago said, earning a wide, gaping smile from the radio host. 

Kevin giggles. “You look lovely too, Santiago. You look so smart.” The radio host said softly looking down at his bloodied and yellow shirt, the robot fixing an orange Strex badge on his bloody lapel. 

Santiago took Kevin back to his booth where a grinning Lauren Mallard was waiting for him. 

And just as the robot had said, Kevin was the perfect employee. He loved the smiling god and StrexCorp most of all. Now that his transformation was finished, Santiago returned to recruitment, there being no need to recruit anyone now that everyone in Desert Bluffs worked for StrexCorp.

 


	2. Where It Ended

Years flew by, Kevin watching the rise and fall of StrexCorp, being issued daily to take his Strex approved medication so that he would continue to smile. Once he was thrown to the desert otherworld, he no longer had this but because of having taken the medicine continuously, he still stayed as smiley as the day he first officially became a StrexCorp employee. A much more high-tech robot called Daniel interning at the office and helping Kevin along with Lauren with his daily tasks. He stayed there for a year but luckily he had the… handsome man- Carlos the scientist from Night Vale to keep him company. 

 

Kevin was distraught after Carlos had left the desert otherworld to return to Night Vale and to his boyfriend and Kevin’s double, Cecil. He was now completely lost and unsure what to do. 

 

Luckily, he had managed to find Carlos’ footprints, following them back and ending up in Night Vale. As he got to Night Vale however, he saw Carlos and Cecil reunited, breaking his heart further, his feelings for the scientist dashed. He hurriedly made it back to his beloved Desert Bluffs, looking around at once was Strex filled workers, smiles everywhere, to no one. Well, except for the few angels roaming the street. 

 

The usually smiling radio host; for what must have been the second time in his life after Strex had changed him, started to cry, feeling utterly alone. His cries were silent, him stopping and looking around at the town that now seemed foreign to him. The only place he knew and remembered well enough was the radio station and his own home, Kevin going into the radio station and seeing an ‘on air’ sign lit up in the booth where he would normally be in. 

 

The radio host was confused but slowly went up to the window, looking into the booth and seeing Lauren and Intern Daniel hosting the show, not taking any notice of him. He waited until the show was over to make himself known, putting on a wide, forced smile as they walked out, despite his pain and sadness.

 

“Kev!” Lauren said happily, quickly hugging him.

 

Kevin hugs her back, annoyed at the nickname. “Hi, Lauren~ it’s still Kevin, not Kev.” He said sternly but with a soft chuckle following it. 

 

“Welcome back, Kevin.” Intern Daniel said politely after a few minutes, handing him some coffee that he had just made. 

 

“Aw~ thanks, Daniel.” He said, taking a sip of his coffee as Lauren let go. He frowns slightly as he tasted it. 

 

“Daniel… Are you sure this isn't your coffee?” He asks with a small, awkward laugh as he looked into the cup of murky brown liquid. 

 

“Um, I'm pretty sure it's yours…” Daniel took the mug, slightly confused.

 

“Are you sure?” Kevin shifts a little, politely folding his hand behind his back. 

 

Daniel realised his mistake as he took a sip himself. “Right… Sugar… Not motor oil…” He mumbled, shaking his head. 

 

Kevin giggles quietly as Daniel goes off to make him some more. 

 

“And some B+ blood with the 3 sugars, please~ thank you, Daniel!” He calls after the intern.

 

Lauren laughs, snorting a bit as she did so. “Hah, B+, like… BE positive.” She said, thinking that she was hilarious. 

 

Her laugh irritated Kevin but he smiles anyway, Strex having warped his personality and face so much that he couldn’t do otherwise even if he wanted to. 

 

“That was… lame, Lauren. I hated it.” The radio host smiled widely but not naturally. 

 

“But you’re smiling, so you must have liked it a little bit!~” Lauren squeals, laughing. 

 

Kevin joins in with her laughter. “I’m smiling and I hate it!” He said truthfully, what he said actually seeming quite dark considering what happened. Over the year, Kevin having no medicine affecting him and slowly but never fully bringing his personality back, but he realised that he couldn’t stop smiling, no matter how much he tried.

 

Why would he be smiling? What was there to smile about? He had no family, no one who  _ truly _ cared about him… did he? If he did… wouldn’t they have saved him before he turned into… whatever he was now? Oh well… he was back in Desert Bluffs now and was unsure if he would ever return to the way he once was.

 

Kevin soon returned doing his show as always over the next few days, Daniel and Lauren noticed his odd behaviour, but didn’t really know what to say or do. They thought it was odd and unusual that Kevin wasn’t constantly smiling like he used to. 

 

Lauren pulled Daniel aside as he was about to hand Kevin his coffee during the weather. “Daniel, this isn’t right. Why is Kevin so… unproductive lately?” They looked in, seeing Kevin play with what seemed to be a stray screw on the table. Kevin frowns, focusing on the screw as if trying to remember something, the screw seeming to bring back a memory of… someone… but Kevin couldn’t quite remember who. 

 

“Miss Mallard,--”

 

“Oh, come on, Daniel. I told you that you can call me Lauren~” she said cheerfully.

 

“Right… er, Lauren. I’ll do some research about when Kevin first became a Strex Employee and I’ll let you know what I found.” Daniel said, thinking for a moment before giving Kevin his coffee and going to find recruitment. 

 

Daniel looked around the abandoned office, well, except for the angel that looked at him for a moment before going about its business. 

 

He looks through old information and documents, finding Kevin’s file. He looks through it, seeing a picture of Kevin when he returned to work, Kevin smiling widely with splatters of blood on his face and clothes. The file was also splattered with blood. He reads through the information before finding what he was looking for: recruitment worker: Santiago/ prototype 006.  Daniel frowns, looking through the robot's files, trying to find Santiago’s file. He finds his own file, saving it to read it later. 

 

He finds Santiago’s file, looking through it to see where StrexCorp had put all of the robots. He also asks the the angel named Erika if they might know where the other robots might have been taken to once StrexCorp was taken over by the angels. He shows Erika the picture of Santiago, the angel pausing for a moment before walking away silently, beckoning Daniel to follow them. The angel stopped at a locked door, unlocking it and opening the door. There was a large room which had various robots from right at the start when StrexCorp had started to grow, right to the end, with the newest and most recently made robots. They all seemed as high-tech as Daniel was. The angel told Daniel what they were told about the robots- that it wouldn’t be productive to make all the robots again since there already was so many, so all of them had upgrades. 

 

They walked along the rows of robots, some faces seeming familiar to Daniel, and some a total mystery. Erika informing him that they had deactivated the robots and stored them because they didn’t have a use for them since they were just gathering dust anyway. The intern was already functioning but with malfunctions when the angels took over StrexCorp, so there was no need to deactivate and store him like the others. They did however, fix the malfunctions so that Daniel worked properly, seeming unusually humanlike. 

 

Finally, they stopped in front of Santiago, who looked very noticeably different from the file’s picture. Where the skin was more metallic and robot-like, he now having a more human-like and naturally tanned-looking skin tone, panels still across his face. His hair looked a lot more natural, it being replaced with fine and silky hair, it tied back into a neat ponytail with a slight fringe still. Santiago still wore a suit, the same colours but it fit him better than the original suit did. The prototype badge was removed and was replaced with a name badge that read ‘Santiago’. 

 

“Hm… is it possible to start him back up? And maybe… reprogram him a little to make him more caring or just to be there and care for someone?” Daniel asks, looking to Erika.

 

“Of course. I’ll have to figure out how to do it… but I’ll figure it out. I won’t make his sole purpose to recruit people and turn them into StrexCorp employees but I don’t know if I’ll be able to get rid of that programming completely, but he will be a lot more human-like than he was before. He’s a really old robot…” Erika looked to the deactivated robot.

 

“That’s fine. As long as he isn’t completely focused on making StrexCorp employees but still gives Kevin his medicine… everything should be fine.” Daniel ran a hand through his hair a little. 

 

“Come back next week and he should be up and running by then.” Erika said, putting the lifeless robot on a hand truck and wheeling him out as they walked out of the room where the robots were stored.

 

Daniel went back to Lauren, telling her what he had found, leaving it to be a surprise for Kevin. 

 

The week passed by slowly, Kevin feeling even more alone and isolated, frustrated that he couldn’t stop smiling and couldn’t remember anything beyond when he was a StrexCorp employee. He continued to play with the stray screw that he had found, getting annoyed and anxious if he couldn’t find it, confused why he was so protective of the screw.

 

Daniel had been checking up on Erika and Santiago to see if the angel was able to reactivate the robot, the process happening smoothly. About a week later, Santiago was fully reactivated and ready to return to the radio host in hopes that he might be able to get Kevin back to his usual smiling self, having not known the radio host before he was a Strex employee. Kevin finishes his show, resting his head in his hands with a small sigh as Daniel and Santiago wait at the door. 

 

“Okay… go look after Kevin.” Daniel mumbled to Santiago, opening the door and gently pushing him in. Kevin didn’t much notice the noise. 

 

Santiago looked around before his eyes rested on Kevin. “Kevin.” He said simply, his voice sounding vaguely the same but a lot more human-like. The radio host froze for a moment, recognising the voice, seeing and remembering clearly Santiago’s old face.

 

He slowly turns, looking at the new and improved Santiago, his heart thumping loudly for a moment. He slowly stood up, looking at the robot with wide eyes. 

 

“I’ve been told that you’re not reaching your full potential lately, Kevin.” The radio host was surprised that the robot didn’t skip over the words and at his beautiful new appearance. He was speechless, Santiago moving even closer to the surprised radio host. 

 

“Why aren’t you smiling, Kevin?” He said softly, Kevin shakily smiling and tearing up, hugging the robot tightly, suddenly feeling so much better and no longer so alone. Santiago sighs, slowly hugging the radio host back, the upgrade enabling him to understand human’s emotions, even if he wouldn’t help Kevin in his sadness. 

 

“I… I don’t want t-to be alone anymore…” Kevin whispered. 

 

Santiago strokes over his hair gently and soothingly. “I’m not going to leave you. I will now be with you always.” Kevin hugged the other even tighter as he said this, Daniel and Lauren watching through the window curiously at the two. 

 

Kevin slowly and eventually let go, smiling slightly but genuinely, it still fairly wide because of his changed jaw position because of the robot. 

 

He walked out of the booth, waving goodbye to Daniel and Lauren before going back home, the robot following him home. 

 

The radio host slowly got into bed once he got home, it being fairly late. He sighs and curls up on his side in bed, not noticing that the other got in bed beside him. He rests his hand with his palm up next to his head comfortably. Santiago pauses, the angel watching through Santiago’s eyes, telling the robot to wrap his arms around the other to comfort him. 

 

Santiago nods slightly, slowly laying down and pulling the other close, intertwining their fingers gently with Kevin’s hand that was gently resting on the mattress, causing Kevin to tense up slightly. 

 

“Wh-what are you doing?” He mumbled, blushing slightly and looking back a little to the robot. 

 

“I was told that this would make you feel better, Kevin. Do you not like this?” He said quietly.

 

“I-I would prefer if you.. um..” He pushed the other’s hand a little so that Santiago’s hand rested on his wrist, it reminding Kevin of the way the robot would pull him from room to room. 

 

“Like this?” Santiago asks, gently gripping onto his wrist, Kevin nodding before laying back down comfortably. “Okay, I will remember that. Have you taken your medicine, Kevin?”

 

“... no… I ran out.” Kevin mumbled, the other turning Kevin around and sitting him up. Kevin whines and squirms as he was given the medicine, the familiar warm sensation flowing through his body. His mouth twitched up into a smile, the radio host laying down and curling up again, the two laying back in the same position. Kevin huffs a little, his mood being conflicting. He was confused why he was smiling, it being much like when he first was turned into the smiling man that he once was. 

 

“I have contacted StrexCorp. You will be receiving your regular medicine again.” Santiago mumbled into the back of the other’s neck, staring at the back of Kevin’s head. His eyes lit the room slightly, almost like a small nightlight, it not nearly being as bright as it was before his upgrade.

 

Kevin sighs, nodding a little. “Okay… goodnight, Santiago..” he mumbled, easily falling asleep thanks to the medicine. 

 

“Goodnight, Kevin. Sleep well.” He stayed still, not needing sleep. He adjusted as Kevin moved around in his sleep, making sure his arm was kept around the radio host to let him know that the robot would always be there for him and comfort him in case he had a nightmare.

 

Over the next few day, Kevin had to get used to his medicine once again, it causing side-effects to his mood. He was usually moody in the evenings when he had to take the medication extremely sad when the robot left him alone. He slowly became more and more happier, much to the delight of Daniel and Lauren even though the radio host seemed to develop an unhealthy obsession with Santiago; not wanting to have a single moment without him since he was apparently that scared of being alone again.

 

The radio host didn’t know why the robot made him feel strange, his heart beating quickly and his chest tightening whenever Santiago looked at him or said his name in his beautiful, human-like yet still metallic voice. 

 

Daniel and Lauren once again noticed the strange behaviour that Kevin had around the robot, and when Santiago wasn’t around, he would always talk about the robot. 

 

“Kevin… can we talk?” Lauren asks after his show was finished, one of the only places that Kevin could be seen without the robot.

 

He sighs, but still of course smiled. “Yes, Lauren? What is it?”

 

“Do you... like Santiago?”

 

“What… what do you mean?” Kevin frowns slightly, confused. “I mean… he is very kind… and… caring and neat and proper… his hair is quite long, which could be messy a-and it needs to be cut… but it  _ really _ suits him… and…” he trailed off, leaning his elbow on the table and resting his head in his palm, getting lost in his thoughts about the suave man. Lauren giggles quietly, thinking that it was quite cute. As long as Kevin was happy, she didn’t see a reason why he couldn’t feel this way. Sure, it wasn’t  _ technically _ normal to feel this way about a robot- but she’s seen more than enough evidence as to why Kevin felt that way. Santiago always cared for him no matter what the radio host’s mood was. 

 

“Kevin! You should ask him on a date!” Lauren squeals. Kevin tilts his head, a little confused. Lauren sighs as she saw the radio host was confused. “I mean, you two should go out for dinner! I’ll ask him!” She quickly runs off, going to find Santiago. 

 

The radio host quickly goes after her, pulling her back to where they were. “No! I-I’ll do it!” 

 

“If you haven’t done it already, how can I trust you not to do it now?!” She whines, the two starting to bicker as Daniel walked towards them with Santiago, the two robots discussing various things about the radio station and what emotions might be like to feel. 

 

“What are you two doing?” Daniel asked, Lauren and Kevin looking at them. Kevin blushed lightly as he saw the robot who took care of him.

 

“Ah, Santiago! Perfect timing!~” Lauren said, quickly trying to move towards them. “Kevin would like to know if--” Kevin quickly covered her mouth, pulling her back, embarrassed.

 

The two looked to the bickering humans, slightly confused before Daniel had a clue of what might be happening, mumbling something to the other robot who nodded in acknowledgement. 

 

“Kevin.” Santiago said seriously, snapping the two out of their mini, harmless fight. Kevin slowly looks up at the tall robot, Santiago staring down into the radio host’s dark eyes.

 

“We should go out for dinner tonight.” Kevin’s heart skipped a little and he quickly nods, his extremely wide smile returning to his face. 

 

“Now, your show is finished, yes? Let’s go home and prepare for tonight.” Santiago grabbed Kevin’s wrist, pulling the blushing radio host back to their house. 

 

The radio host quickly looked through his wardrobe, trying to find something nice to wear for tonight, even though Santiago wouldn’t mind whatever he wore. 

 

He debated wearing a yellow sun dress but couldn’t find the shoes that went with it or the sunflower that he would usually clip to his hair. He pouts a little, continuing to look through his wardrobe. Considering no one ever asked, no one knew how well Kevin could walk in heels when he wore the dress.

 

He eventually settles on a yellow striped dress shirt, smart black trousers and shoes with a blood red tie, even though he wasn’t able to do it up properly. He waited patiently for Santiago to help him, Kevin normally having clip on bowties. 

 

Santiago wore a steel grey suit with a matching tie and black shoes, pretty much only owning different shades of suits for different occasions, ranging from black as the void to purest white, with every shade of grey imaginable, it reminding Kevin of a printer that’s run out of toner.

 

“Um…~ Santiago~ help please.” He giggles, embarrassed and handing the robot his tie.

 

The robot let out a soft sigh through his nose and smiled slightly, shaking his head with a small chuckle, finding it cute how he couldn’t tie a tie.  He happily helps the radio host and they were soon ready for their dinner. 

 

Santiago held Kevin’s wrist as usual, both walking to a nice and cozy restaurant that was fairly far from their house. Their dinner went smoothly, the two enjoying each other’s company and Santiago learning a lot about Kevin, storing and remembering the information so that he would look after Kevin better in the future. 

 

Santiago drove them home, sitting in the car and not getting out for a few moments. “Kevin…” he began, seeming slightly nervous which was unusual for the robot.

 

“Hm?” Kevin smiled kindly to the robot. 

 

“Kevin... um… how do I phrase this…” he thought for a moment. “May I… give you a kiss?” Santiago asked, looking into Kevin’s eyes curiously, fascinated by the other.

 

The radio host blushes darkly and nods. “Um… o-of  course.” He smiles widely and nervously.

 

“Good…” the robot mumbled with a small nod, looking for something in his inner pocket as Kevin leaned in slowly.

 

Santiago found what he was looking for, holding it out to Kevin, who was closing his eyes and leaning in for a kiss. Santiago cleared his throat, snapping the radio host out of it, his eyes opening as he looked to what was in the other’s hand. It was a nut from a nut and bolt. Kevin smiled widely, happily and genuinely, chuckling quietly.  He takes the ‘kiss’ and hugged the robot. 

 

“Thank you so much, Santiago… I love it.” He said softly.

 

“I’m glad you like it.” He said quietly, stroking the radio host’s hair soothingly before they got out of the car. Kevin hesitated for a moment before holding the other’s hand as they walked inside. 

 

“Santiago… I think… I think I love you.” Kevin looked up at the robot lovingly, who returned his gaze, even though he was incapable of feeling said emotions himself. 

 

“I have a deep regard for you as well, Kevin.” Santiago said, Kevin pulling the other down a little by his tie and hesitantly kissing his nose. The robot blinked, looking at his nose confused, which made the radio host giggle. 

 

As others noticed their relationship, it seemed much more like a very deep platonic relationship rather than a romantic one. After all, Santiago was a robot. What was romance to a robot? It was easier for Santiago to understand cuddling and hand holding rather than trying to explain what a romantic relationship entailed. 

 

The robot continued to care for Kevin, making sure he took his medication so that he was still happy. While Kevin had nightmares that the robot he cared dearly for left him, Santiago made sure that he was safe, helping him out of the nightmares. 

 

While some saw the relationship as odd, everyone was glad that Kevin’s smile had returned, the radio host forgetting about the pain caused by the handsome Night Valeian scientist, it replaced with happy memories with the Desert Bluffsian robot who loved him with all his artificial heart. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, here's my sappy story of a robot and his smiley boyfriend. I kind of made it because I was upset seeing a pairing with Kevin that was fairly abusive, so I decided to try and make my own. 
> 
> Let me know what you think of the story, I'm not great at tagging things so any help and advice on what to tag is welcome! Thank you for reading.  
> -Papy


End file.
